Fort Sam Houston’s Caisson Division will be activated today to honor a decorated soldier killed in Afghanistan this month, and a contingent of Texas A&M cadets are coming in from College Station to honor the former Aggie and military leader.
40-year-old Lt. Col. Todd Clark was killed on June 8, 2013, in what the Army called a “Green on Blue” incident. An Afghan soldier being trained by Col. Clark and two others turned his gun on them, killing all three.
Army North Commander, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, and his staff from Fort Sam Houston were on hand to honor Col. Clark when his remains arrived at San Antonio International Airport Wednesday.
Clark, who received the Purple Heart after being wounded in a roadside bomb attack in 2010, was originally from the Albany, New York, area. But he attended Texas A&M University. Army North officials said they believed Clark’s parents requested burial in San Antonio, knowing that their son had a special place in his heart for Texas.
Lt. Col. Clark’s commanding officer from Fort Drum, along with some 1,600 cadets from Texas A&M, are scheduled to attend the Friday afternoon service. The 5th Army Caisson Platoon horse and carriage section will carry Clark’s body to Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, where he will be buried with full military honors.
Eileen Pace is a veteran radio and print journalist with a long history of investigative and feature reporting in San Antonio and Houston, earning more than 50 awards for investigative reporting, documentaries, long-form series, features, sports stories, outstanding anchoring and best use of sound.